CONTENTS

Services

Minister’s Letter

Dates for Your Diary

Worship Committee

Reading in Church

Appointments

Magazine Costs

Education and Nurture

Lent Groups

Thank You!

New Alpha Course for Trinity

Finance Update

Special Events

Reel Issues

Prayer Chain

Trinity Library

Driver Needed

Christmas Entertainment and Quizzes

News about the Refurbished Office

Sunday Fellowship Lunches

You have been warned!!

Electoral Roll

Wednesday Group

Items on Offer

Job Vacancy

Nursery Service

Chalfont Club

Church Walk

Church Music Evening & Meal

Earley Youth Net

Highmoor Hall

Nursery Services

Wednesday Group

Trinity Concert Band

REEL ISSUES

Phoenix Choir

A Sponsored Swim

URC Wessex Synod

News in Brief

Men’s Breakfast

Reading University Chaplaincy Lectures

RESCUE 2008

Pastoral Page

Prayers for the Parish

Prayers for those who live outside the Parish

Diary

Deadline for March Diary and Magazine:

Services

FEBRUARY 2009

Please note that there is a Nursery Service every Wednesday during termtime.

Minister’s Letter

It seems almost ages ago now but I’d like to express my thanks to all those who helped make the Christmas services and activities really successful.  For me, the highlight was the really colourful and graphic human representation of a Christingle, so many thanks to Cathy, and Vronwyn and Margaret’s small group for their hard work in making that time so good.  Everything seemed to go well, from Phil and Joy’s Christmas Entertainments evening, Andrew’s Christmas Choir and the Junior Church party to a packed Crib Service.  I survived in the rôle of Father Christmas a couple of times, and then there was the generous supply of mince pies and mulled wine at every turn.  Thank you to everyone.

I want to now concentrate on two main things.  Firstly, we are running an Alpha Course from Feb 4^th.  Some of us will have done this before, some won’t.  I’d like to really encourage you to consider doing it either again or for the first time.  It’s one of those things that, however many times you do it, you can get something new from it.  It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but then again perhaps you will get something from it, and you may also be able to give to others by taking part.  The aim is for it to be a course internal to Trinity this time around, with a plan to run it again in the Autumn as part of the national Alpha initiative, when we’d be looking to invite friends to come along.  This doesn’t stop you bringing someone along this time.  Joan and Gordon Guile are hosting the course.  So, please do sign up.  There’s a sign up sheet with course dates and details at the back of church, and more about it in this magazine.

The second thing to think about is the stewardship work we’ve been focussing on.  I’ve encouraged us to look at how we look after what God has given us responsibility for in terms of our lifestyle, and to be generous in what we give in response to the incredible generosity God has shown us through Jesus his Son.  Biblical stewardship covers all manner of things but there is something of a focus on money and what we do with it and, in particular, much is said about GIVING money and the need to be generous in this.  I can’t repeat here what I’ve preached but I do want to get down to some basics. 

Trinity is in a difficult financial position at the moment.  If our regular income and expenditure remain static, we’ll run out of cash before the end of 2009!!  This is no joke and is a situation that has been slowly developing in recent years.  There are no obvious ways to cut expenditure, as we don’t really spend a great deal of money beyond the basics.  However, there really should be room, even in the present economic climate, to increase our income through increases in giving.  This message needs repeating throughout this year, at least, so you’ll be hearing it a fair bit. 

We could make more of our current giving if more of the cash giving was made though either weekly envelopes or standing orders.  This would mean that we could claim tax back from the government from those of you who pay tax.

However, our levels of giving really do need to go up.  In 2008, approx £63,000 was collected through envelopes, cash and standing orders.  If 200 people gave this, the average per person per month is £26.25.  Whatever percentage we could use as a guide for what we should be giving isn’t really the point.  The point is this isn’t very much.  Can we review what we do give and, if possible, can we increase this? 

If we all pitch in, then the burden will be shared and the cost per person will be less.  However, the aim shouldn’t be to try and get away with giving as little as possible but to give because we want to give, and to do so generously, in response to God’s love for us.

We have a monthly deficit of approximately £1500 per month to make up just to tread water.  In addition, the Church Meeting in December agreed that it would be a good idea to explore funding a part-time youth worker.  The cost of this could be as little as £5,000 per annum but at the moment there is no way we can proceed with this.  This is a great shame because there are loads of good opportunities at the moment which, with such a person on board, we could really develop, and do so in conjunction with other local churches. 

We are having, also, to prepare for the likelihood that our boiler will need replacing within the next 5 years, at an estimated cost of £20,000.  We can’t pay this at the moment.  It may be the case that we make a special appeal for this, but we can’t be caught out by this. 

The bottom line is we need more income to cover maintenance costs and to develop areas of ministry, which is what we are really about.  And for a church this size, in this area, we should be able to generate more income from giving than we are at the moment. 

Please do pray about this (remember you could come to the weekly prayer meeting in the Chapel every Saturday morning when we gather to pray for Trinity), for Trinity as a whole, and your part in it.  As I say above, please review what you give.  This may mean you need to reduce your giving, but whether we use 10% or 5% as a rough guide for what we should give as first fruits, I doubt very much if our giving is anywhere near 10% or 5% of our income!!

This is challenging and tough stuff.  Let us come together on this and trust God as individuals and for God’s work in Lower Earley .  Matthew 6:25-34 is a well known and really helpful passage on trusting God for our provision.  Remember too Proverbs 28:27 – he who gives to the poor will lack nothing.  Let’s pray that 2009 is a year of real growth at Trinity.

Every blessing,

Jon

Dates for Your Diary

All meetings held at 8pm.

Worship Committee

The Worship Committee meets quarterly to discuss different aspects of Trinity’s worship.  The different formats of the services are discussed and checked that they meet Trinity’s needs as these change and develop.  Contact is made with visiting ministers and the readers’ rota is managed through the Worship Committee.  The committee communicates with the music side of church to look to ways to develop worship.

Elizabeth Netherwood

Reading in Church

There are always vacancies for anyone wishing to read in church.  If you would like to have a go, contact Elizabeth Netherwood e_netherwood(at)hotmail.com.

If I have not contacted you and you think you should be on the list, please get in touch.

Appointments

Church Meeting, Monday, 8 December 2008

The following appointments were made:

Boys’ Brigade Officer (Captain)    Leslie Bainton for a further period of 1 year*

Communion Steward                     Gaynor Davies for a further period of 3 years

Deanery Synod Rep                     John Goddard for a further period of 3 years

CTEER Rep**                             Richard Munday for a further period of 1 year

Church Treasurer                       Gordon Guile for an initial period of 3 years***

Deputy Treasurer                       Gareth Rees for an initial period of 3 years

Financial Adviser                         Richard Munday

to provide guidance and assistance when required 

Sarah Brayshaw was approved as a teacher in Junior Church (Youth Group).

The following posts remain unfilled:

            Property Group Member

            Mission Committee Member

Office Equipment Supervisor

* So as to provide time to find a replacement.

** CTEER = Churches together in Earley & East Reading.   

*** This appointment created a Steward vacancy.

Magazine Costs

Education and Nurture

Group Members: David Brayshaw, Jill Duncan, Margaret Evans, Margaret Goddard, Joanna Hassan, Vronwyn Hutch, Jonathan Salmon, Lisa Waite

Aim: To encourage spiritual growth and to develop a closer relationship with God as individuals and as a church.

Our main focus during the past year has been looking at the different ways groups can be part of church life and what God’s vision is for us at Trinity.  Many of you have been involved in this; if you haven’t yet, now is the time to do so.  Last year, most of the Lent groups enjoyed themselves so much, they are still meeting.  Let’s see what happens this year.  The groups already running welcome new people, Lent groups will start later this month and Alpha is starting now, so whether you usually join a Lent group or have never been to a group before, why not give it a go this year and let us know what you think.

Jill Duncan

Lent Groups

This year, we are running a shortened version of Alpha as our Lent study.  We would like to encourage everyone at Trinity to become involved in this – even if you have been to an Alpha course before.  However, our regular evening groups may have something different to offer as an alternative.  Keep your eyes on the notice board and ears on the notices so that you can choose what you do during Lent.  Offers to host and lead groups will be gratefully received – to Jill Duncan please.

Email:  jill.duncan(at)ntlworld.com

Thank You!

New Alpha Course for Trinity

An Alpha course will be starting on Wednesday, 4 February, hosted by Gordon and Joan Guile at their home, 22 Moorhen Drive, Lower Earley (near The Crescent Resource Centre).

This course is specifically to help us look more deeply at our Christian faith, and to give us the opportunity to ask those questions that have been lurking at the back of our minds, but we have never actually asked.

Each session will begin with an informal meal - a good way to relax and get to know each other a bit better - and will aim to finish by 9.20pm.  The course will run over 8 weeks on a Wednesday (apart from Ash Wednesday, when we’ll meet on the Tuesday), plus a whole day on 28 March.

Please do give this some serious thought, and contact Gordon and Joan, or Margaret Evans at Trinity, if you’d like to come along or just to get more information.  Most people who have been a guest on an Alpha course at some time have thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship, as much as the discussion, and all have most definitely benefited and grown in their faith as a result of attending.

As a helper and leader on many Alpha courses, I have learned something new every time, and am always amazed at the many ways God leads us to a closer relationship with Him.

A full programme is posted in the church, with all the dates and topics.

We really look forward to seeing many of you around our table, and to sharing a meal and the Alpha course with you.

Joan and Gordon Guile

Finance Update

Following the Church Meeting in December, I agreed to give a financial update every month in the Trinity Magazine, so all church members are aware of our finances and our giving.

It’s not good news.  At the December meeting, Norman Briggs produced a Budget for the period September 2008 to August 2009, showing a deficit of £5,466 and this included an income of £6,000 from letting the Manse at 1 Strand Way .  (We get half the rental after costs.  The other half goes to the Methodist Circuit.)  So, the real situation was a deficit of £11,466.

Since the meeting, several other costs have been taken into account.  In particular, we have received a large and accurate electricity bill and we expect a larger gas bill, following the unusually cold start to the winter.  Also, since the meeting, we have seen a reduction in giving for various reasons but mostly a reduction of Standing Order income due to two members moving away.  Put the two together, ie increased costs and reduced income, and the projected deficit is now £18,000 or £1,500 per month.  On this basis, we will virtually run out of money by the end of August 2009.

We at Trinity must therefore increase our giving or reduce our spending, or both. 

A large proportion of our costs is the assessments we have to pay to the three denominations.  The largest goes to the Church of England who currently provide our minister.  Out of our projected expenditure of £96,000, the three denominations receive £54,700, well over half of all costs.  The building costs, ie heating, lighting, etc, amount to nearly £15,000.  The rest of the costs are made up of our three staff, admin costs and giving to mission.  (Trinity aims to give 10% of all our income to mission, both at home and abroad.)  When you analyse the costs, there is no way we can save large sums in this or any year.  

During January, Jon Salmon gave us guidance on stewardship and giving.  During these tough times, we realise some members may have to reduce giving if their family falls on hard times.  Others may benefit from promotion, a bonus, mortgage reductions, etc but most will continue to benefit from living in one of the most affluent areas in the country.

 Please come and see me or speak to John Medcraft if you would like a Standing Order form to give in this simple way or to increase your current giving.  A bit of good news is we receive back from HM Revenue and Customs over £11,000 from members who choose to give by Standing Order and through the Weekly Envelopes.  If all the cash giving shown below was changed into standing orders, Trinity would gain an extra £2,600 per year from the Inland Revenue, now isn't that a nice thought!

Collections during September to December 2008

NB:  Gift Aid increases amounts above by almost £1,000 per month.  Thank you, Mr Darling!

There are others areas of giving, things like Room Letting, special one-off gifts to the church and special fund raising events (see below).

Special Events

Each month, I will aim to give updates on our giving and comment on other items of finance, hopefully with more good news than bad.

Gordon Guile Treasurer

Reel Issues

The idea is that, once a month, it's a chance to get together with friends, watch a film, eat some popcorn and discuss some of the issues emerging from the film from a Christian perspective.  The plan is to break the film down into bite size chunks to highlight particular issues and focus on key scenes for discussion but, don't worry, if you haven't seen the film before, we promise the plot will still make sense!

We're hoping that the film nights will be a fun way to explore how some everyday issues (such as relationships, forgiveness, money, ambition ....) are portrayed in films and what we can learn to develop our relationship with God.  We would also really like them to provide an opportunity to bring along non-Christian friends who are up for a bit of discussion and debate or those who just want to find out what the Bible says about some of these things.

The first night is Saturday 14 February, 7.30pm at Trinity Church.  We're going to be watching “Evan Almighty”.  It would be great to see some of you there!  

Let us know if you're interested, so we can have a vague idea about how many people we can expect to turn up.  (You can RSVP to our event on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=46416173414#/event.php?eid=46416173414&ref=mfor.)  If you can't make this one but would like to be kept up to date with what we're planning for future months, send us an email and we'll add you on to our mailing list: etc.trinity(at)yahoo.co.uk

Gemma and Laura

Prayer Chain

As you may already know, Lyn Tait has given up the administration of Trinity’s Prayer Chain after almost 13 years.  We owe her a very great debt of gratitude.

It now falls to me to step into her shoes and I wanted to let this be an opportunity to appeal for more people to join.  The chain consists of a few people from amongst the Trinity fellowship who are willing to pray for anyone who requests a prayer.  The members do not have to possess any extraordinary talents, nor do they need to attend committee meetings!  All that is required is a concern for someone who has requested prayer and a degree of discretion, as these prayers and requests are not subjects to be discussed with any other person.

So, please consider joining.  After all, if you were met in church on a Sunday by a member of the congregation who asked you to pray for something that concerned them, would you refuse?  I’m sure you would not.

Please contact me if you feel God is directing you in this way.  We currently have only twenty one family members in the chain and it would be marvellous to double our numbers.  I would be delighted to receive a call from you and to explain the workings of the chain in detail.

Anna Addis

Trinity Library

Some folk at Trinity may not be sure exactly where/what our library is.  Well, it’s a varied collection of about 800 Christian books, and is housed along the left-hand wall of our Chapel.  It is available whenever the church is open.

The books are grouped by topic (Prayer, Bereavement, Growth, Relationships, Depression, etc, etc) and kept in rough order by means of the topic abbreviation on the spine, and shelf labels.

Borrowing is very simple: just choose your book, look inside the front of it for the book number there, and write it, with your name, on the issue sheet which is on the nearby ledge.  The number is simply a “running number” which has no connection with the subject of the book, so no-one can tell from the issue sheet what sort of book you’ve borrowed – it is completely private to you.

If the library is unfamiliar to you, do have a browse!

Here are a few more new books, with their subject codes:

Perkin               Parenting teenagers                                REL

Mayfield            Exploring prayer                                     PRA

Fawcett             2,000 prayers for public worship               PRA

Owen                Living with bereavement                          BER

Morison             Who moved the stone?                            FAI

Parsons              Teenagers!                                             REL

Williams             I’m not supposed to feel like this             DEP

Driver Needed

Would you be able to join the rota to take Marion Wise to church?  We are down to three of us and so would welcome another car driver on the rota.   Marion lives on Meadow Road and she is in a wheelchair, so it is necessary to collapse the chair and lift it into the car.  Most cars should be able to take the chair.  If anyone is interested in joining the rota, or even putting their name forward as a contact when we have problems, then that would be great.  Give me a call if you can help out.  Thanks.

Ann McKie

Christmas Entertainment and Quizzes

Many thanks to everyone who came to the Christmas Entertainment, brought a friend, sang, played, helped with refreshments, brought mince pies, donated a raffle prize, sold raffle tickets, etc, etc.  Thanks also to those of you who took part in the Christmas Quizzes.  I hope that both gave some enjoyment over the Christmas period.

Most importantly, these two activities raised £1021.60 towards Church Funds.

Tickets, etc*                        £741.00

Raffle                                 £198.60

Quizzes                                £82.00

* The “etc” includes donations made for Christmas readings performed to Chalfont and Gemini retirement Clubs, and the sale of programmes.

The Quizzes attracted quite a lot of interest and there are obviously some very competitive church members.  The standard was extremely high, with the winning entries getting full marks or within half a mark of a maximum score.

Congratulations to the winners:–

The Brimicombe Family for the “Number” Quiz

and

            The Slack Family for the “Colour” Quiz.

The answers to the quizzes are posted on the notice board in the Church Hall and published below.

Once again, many thanks to everyone for their support and … there are only 300 days or so until next Christmas.

Phil Hooper

Thanks once again to Phil and his team for organising such an enjoyable and successful evening, as well as providing great exercise for the mind, puzzling over the quizzes.  [Ed]

Christmas “Colour” & “Number” Quiz Answers

News about the Refurbished Office

One of the back rooms at Trinity was refurbished during January to make a new office.  (This is the room previously called the ‘Youth Lounge’, ‘Resource Room’ or ‘Print Room’.)  We have been able to obtain some free furniture and equipment to keep the costs down and our friendly Handyman gave his time free-of-charge.  Please do pop in and see the results next time you are in church.

We were amazed at the generosity of people and would like to thank the following:

·         Christian Community Action for helping direct us to furniture.

·         ‘Freecycle’ for putting us in touch with donors.

·         Viv Edwards (Reading) for a desk and filing cabinet

·         Wendy (Woodley) for a desk

·         Peter Neal ( Lower Earley ) for a printer

·         Richard Cocks & family (Trinity) for a chair.

More about Freecycle

Using Freecycle, members who live near each other can donate unwanted items or search for needed items using the internet.  Their mission is “to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community”.

More about Christian Community Action (CCA)

CCA collect donated furniture and offer help in various ways to people who are struggling.  They have 4 shops with integral support centres in different local communities around Reading and these are largely staffed and run by volunteers who live in the locality.  The number of people coming into the support centres for help, or just a friendly chat, has increased steadily over the last few years.

If you have some furniture you would like to donate to CCA, please ring:

0118 951 2338  Monday – Friday, 10-1; 2-4

Margaret Evans

Administrator

Sunday Fellowship Lunches

Towards the end of last year, when the idea of small groups was being discussed, it was suggested that Sunday Fellowship Lunches would be another way of getting to know one another.  As an experiment, a few couples offered an open invitation to all members of Trinity to come to their home and share their Sunday lunch.  The idea was to provide an opportunity for members of Trinity to get to know one another better in an informal setting, while enjoying a meal together.

During October and November, there were six of these lunches, usually with four guests.  The feedback from all of these was very positive, and so the Fellowship Sunday Lunches are starting again this month after the Christmas break.  The list of Hosts is posted on the church notice board, and all you have to do is sign up for one of the Sunday Lunches being offered.  During February, the hosts are:

1 February                     Corinne and Gareth Rees

8 February                     Janet and Peter Whiteman

                        15 February                   Joy and Phil Hooper

                        22 February                   Pam and John Medcraft

Normally, the invitation is for four guests.  There is no charge; you don’t have to bring anything; there is no expectation of a return invitation; if you have young children, some of the hosts would love you to bring them with you.  In fact, there can be few reasons not to try one of the Sunday Lunches being offered, so I hope you feel you can take up one of these invitations, if not this month, then later in the year.

If you would like to host a Fellowship Sunday Lunch, have any questions, or would like to know more about the scheme, please feel free to contact me.

Phil Hooper

You have been warned!!

Whilst I was looking through all the paperwork for the last five years’ craft fayres, it struck me that we have some very talented crafty people at Trinity.  It is also interesting to note that the stalls run by Trinity members who donated their goods for sale have all made more money than the cost of the stall to a small business.  As always, we will be looking to fundraise for Trinity this year and I wondered if it would be possible to tap into this talent.  At the moment, I am not sure what exactly this will be - maybe a craft fayre or Sunday morning sales or an open church with displays of craft techniques.

Do you knit, sew, paint, bake, garden or have a hobby that you think others would be interested in?  Would you be able to spare some time in 2009 to make things to sell later in the year?  Please put a note in my pigeonhole with your name and your idea and I will let you have more information, once there are enough people interested.  Any ideas of how best to use this talent will also be welcome.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Karen Green

Electoral Roll

The 2009 Electoral Roll is now on display in the sanctuary.  Please check that your entry is correct and make any amendments as necessary.  Blank forms (SG1) are available for anyone who wishes to add their name to the roll.

Please contact Elaine Munday for further information on:

elainerichard(at)btinternet.com

Wednesday Group

Exploring the Bible and its application.

We meet each Wednesday at 8.00pm in the home of Christine and Robert Adamson for: 

Fellowship:  Welcome and chat over a ‘cuppa’ or a cold drink, whichever is to your taste.

Praise and Worship:  Usually a piece of music, followed by an opening prayer of praise.

Bible reading and discussion:  We normally pick a Bible passage, try to understand it and see how it applies to us today.  More recently, we have been following the 10.00am Sunday Service teaching pattern. 

Prayer:  An opportunity for open prayer amongst the group.  This has evolved from led prayer into many members of the group openly praying.

We have developed into a group that both shares concerns and supports each other.

Over the past year, we have had a Sunday Fellowship Lunch and a barbecue.  Both these events were opportunities to bring along non-participating spouses and were greatly enjoyed by all who attended.  We even celebrated a special birthday with a small tipple of champagne (or soft drink for those of us who are teetotal) and cake.  At Christmas, we all enjoyed an evening of carols led by Veronica and accompanied by the consumption of Ruth’s delicious homemade mince pies.

Our format is simple - we just want to try to understand the Bible more, see how it applies to our lives and attempt to live it out.     

Andrew Curnow

Items on Offer

I have a number of items I thought I could give away through the magazine ... then someone could give a donation to the church funds.  The items I have are:

Panasonic colour 21" TV (old but works)

Panasonic VCR

Digi Box for above

Radio/tape/CD player

It seems a shame to bin these, as they are still working and perhaps someone could use them.

Contact Carole on coopercarole(at)hotmail.com.

Job Vacancy

PROJECT WORKER (up to 24 hours a week)

Salary approx £18,000 pro rata

1 year contract subject to further funding

Door of Hope is a residential Christian discipleship project for men seeking to overcome various life issues, including drug or alcohol addiction, who, in their present environment, do not have the ability to promote, support and maintain positive change in their lives.  It is part of the work of Lifespring Church , Reading.

A Project Worker is required to work alongside the Project Managers assisting in the day to day running of the house, supporting residents and providing cover for staff holidays and absences.  Some counselling experience would be an advantage but there will be the opportunity to undertake training.

For further information or a job description and application form,

 please contact Jim or Heather Herring

email: doorofhope98(at)hotmailcom

Closing date: 10 February 2009

 Nursery Service

Every Wednesday afternoon from 2pm until 3pm during term time, mothers/carers and pre-school children come to Trinity for a short, fun, informal service including songs, stories and crafts, followed by refreshments and a time for chat, action songs and play.

COULD YOU HELP?

We work on a rota with some taking turns at leading the short service and others helping with refreshments, chatting to mums, setting up and clearing away.

Nursery service urgently needs leaders and helpers!

If you are available just once a month,

please prayerfully consider if you could contribute your time and skills to this valuable work.  

If you would like to know more, please speak to one of us:

Lisa Waite, Joan Guile or Jo Salmon.

Chalfont Club

Thursdays from 2.00pm until 3.30pm

Trinity Church Hall

Everyone welcome.

Entrance:  £1

(includes raffle ticket and cup of tea)

Spring Programme 2009

Restarts 30 April 2009

Contact Rosemary Reece for more details.

Church Walk

Saturday 28 February

Morning walk with pub lunch led by Kath & Mick Bedborough

Meet at Trinity at 10am.

Church Music Evening & Meal

We are planning to hold a fundraising social evening on Saturday 9 May at 7pm.  More details soon from Sandy Catchick.  Watch this space!

Earley Youth Net

Youth Net is for anyone aged between 11 and 18. 

It is a chance to explore Christianity and what it means to you.

We meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month from 7.15pm to 9.00pm.  A typical evening involves games, worship and small groups to explore the theme of the evening in more depth. 

For more info, talk to Mike Bushnell, Martin Carrick, Bethan Jones, Laura Brannelly, Gemma Keeley or Gemma Whiteman.

SPRING MEETINGS

This term at Youth Net, we are looking at who Jesus is, his different characteristics and what he means to us.

11 February        Jesus the revolutionary

25 February       Ash Wednesday

11 March            Jesus the friend

25 March           Jesus the servant king

Highmoor Hall

Nursery Services

Nursery Service For 0-5s, parents & carers

atTrinity Church

Chalfont Close, Lower Earley

A short, interactive pre-school service with songs, stories, music & games

followed by craft, toys, action songs, fellowship and refreshments.

Every Wednesday Term time 2pm - 3pm

4 & 11 February

Half Term 18 February

25 February,

4, 11, 18 & 25 March

& 1 April

Come and join the fun!

Everyone welcome.

Trinity Church Office  0118 931 3124.                  Ann Baker

Wednesday Group

Trinity Concert Band

Trinity Concert Band Presents:

A Midwinter Concert

Melodies for You

A programme of our Favourites

Sat 7^th February

Trinity Church

Contact Sandy Godfrey

REEL ISSUES

Saturday 14 Feb

7.30pm

Trinity Church  

Phoenix Choir

The Reading Phoenix Choir

at

Wesley Methodist Church

Queens Road , Reading

Saturday 28 February 2009

7.30pm

Tickets:  £10

Concessions:  £8

in aid of Action for Children (NCH)

Tickets available from June Curnow

Registered Charity Numbers: 1097940 / SC038092

A Sponsored Swim

in aid of

Action for Children

at

Bulmershe Leisure Centre

Woodlands Avenue, Woodley, Reading

Saturday 14 March 2009

7.30pm – 9.30pm

Your support helps homeless families and teenagers, neglected and abused children and those special children with profound disabilities.

Interested?

Call now for an application form.

Mrs J Curnow

73 Hilltop Road , Earley, Reading , RG6 1DB

URC Wessex Synod

Challenge and Choice

Saturday 2 May 2009

10.00am to 4.30pm

at Leighton Park School

Shinfield Road , Reading , RG2 7ED

A day of physical and mental activities

to stretch participants and enable them to reflect

upon the challenge and choice associated with

God’s call upon their love.

There is no charge and lunch is provided.

Come and explore challenge and choice!

News in Brief

Men’s Breakfast

Saturday 7 February at 8.30am

“MOT our Relationships – how are we doing?” - speaker Dr Tim Billington, GP, broadcaster, lecturer.  Bring a friend, neighbour or work colleague to hear this challenging talk at Reading Blue Coat School .  Contact John Ledger, Reading Churches Men’s Group, if you wish to come.

Reading University Chaplaincy Lectures

On Tuesday 24 February at 1pm, Rabbi Alex Goldberg will be speaking on “Sharia Law and Beth Din courts in the UK ”.  Alex is Chief Executive of the London Jewish Forum and was formerly Senior Policy Officer on Race Relations at the Commission for Racial Equality.  Alex addressed the inaugural session of the UN Human Rights Commission in 2006 as the chair of the Consultative Council of Jewish Organisations, and is a national advisor to the Three Faiths Forum and the Center for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism.  The lecture will take place in the Palmer Building , room G03.  

On Wednesday 11 March at 7.30pm, Salley Vickers will be speaking on the subject of “Faith and Imagination”.  Salley is a best-selling novelist whose works include “Miss Garnet's Angel”, “Mr Golightly's Holiday ”, and “The Other Side of You”.  She has worked as a university teacher of literature and is a trained analytical psychologist who lectures widely on the connections between literature, psychology and religion.  The lecture is free and will be held in the Palmer Building .  To help with numbers and for directions, please register beforehand by emailing chaplaincy(at)reading.ac.uk.

RESCUE 2008

Rivers and Environmental Spaces Clean Up Event:  15 & 16 March 2009

RESCUE is a community led clean up event that happens every March in and around Reading .  Volunteers work alongside the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Kennet & Avon Canal and other waterways to deal with litter and other rubbish.  They also work in other areas that have become dumping grounds.  You can get involved by: becoming part of the RESCUE Action Group, forming your own group, joining a group or you can identify a litter hotspot.  To get involved, call the RESCUE Hotline: 0118 939 0100 or email: rescue(at)reading.gov.uk

Pastoral Page

December Baptisms

Alex Roberts, son of Alison Brookes & Howard Jaeger

Harris Ievan, son of Jo Folkes & William Wong

Rowan Rhys, son of Jo Folkes & William Wong

Please pray for

·         People undergoing treatment for cancer and their families.

·         The unemployed who are looking for a new job.

·         All those affected by the current economic downturn.

·         The elderly, especially those needing support and assistance.

·         The terminally ill.

Prayers for the Parish

Please pray this month for those who live and work in these parts of our parish:

Prayers for those who live outside the Parish

Please pray for those who live outside our parish in these streets:

Diary

Deadline for March Diary and Magazine: